The term skin tightening is a common misconception, since skin cannot be literally tightened or shortened. The reaction that makes the skin appear to shrink is actually fibrosis that occurs under the skin causin contraction of the overlying skin.

There is not much tightening (fibrosis) of the skin that can be done if there isn't a significant amount fat available to draw from within the skin. This is why clients with a little extra fat to spare in the face and/or neck experience the most effective results. The younger the client, the more effective the tightening--as fibrosis response is more significant in youthful clients. Those who are 40 to 55 years of age are the best candidates for a successful skin tightening procedure.

The amount of tightening that is possible varies from client to client and depends on a variety of factors. Although there are many technologies that are marketed for skin tightening (including ultrasound, radio frequency, sound waves, etc), they all produce similar clinical results. At Retief Skin Center, we use two devices for skin tightening: Facetite and Exilis Elite.